The Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group works to help people whose rights have been violated and investigates cases involving such abuse, as well as assessing the overall human rights situation in Ukraine. The Group also seeks to develop awareness of human rights issues through public events and its various publications

The appeal on the burglary in the office of the Lugansk voters committee.

In the small hours of the morning of 26 May in Severodonetsk the office of the Lugansk oblast branch of the organization „Voters committee of Ukraine“ was burgled. This office is shared with the oblast correspondent station of the Internet-gantry „Political Ukraine“ and the editorial board of the newspaper „The third sector“, which is published by the Lugansk voters committee. All computers and other equipment were stolen. The total sum of damage is now calculated. The complaint about the burglary was handed to the Severodonetsk town militia directorate.

The members of the committee do not deny the possibility of the political motives of this crime. This version is confirmed by the fact that the mentioned newspaper and Internet-gantry published recently the information about the violations during the election in the oblast. Besides, after the election the administration of the committee turned to the Severodonetsk USS directorate with the request concerning interrogating the observers by the USS officers. The USS directorate answered that the mentioned actions of the law-enforcers did not contradict the operating laws. The texts of the request and the response were published on the gantry „Political Ukraine“ on 24 May.

The voters committee assesses the burglary of their office and other cases of pressure and violence directed on the committee activists as political persecutions connected with the committee activities during the last election.

The voters committee appeals to the law-enforcing organs with the request to pay the special attention for investigating these crimes and to do their best to make such situations impossible in the future.